Listed restaurants operator, Simbisa Brands says it has made significant progress in its expansion project and remodelling which will see the opening of 92 new branches nationwide.

Last year, the company unveiled plans to invest US$19,3 million on the project which is set to be completed by the end of June 2022.

Presenting the group's performance for the six months ended December 31 2022 the group's chief executive officer Basil Dionisio , said progress on the proposed initiatives was being made.

"Strategically, the board focused on three key areas: new store roll-out, store remodelling initiatives, and customer experience enhancement. The Board approved a significant pipeline of new stores, stretching into the next financial year," he said.

The company has since approved store-remodelling initiatives including smaller footprint stores in markets such as Mauritius, which have been highly successful to enhance customer experience, quality of service and brand consistency.

"Significant capital investment is being made in upgrading the operations' Central Stores to increase and make more efficient the storage capacity as well as further automating and streamlining the production process at the Central Kitchen.

"The first phase of the project has been completed through the installation of the aforementioned chip processing," said Dionisio.

Meanwhile, during the review period, customer counts in Zimbabwe grew 18% year on year on the back of ongoing promotions and value meal offerings as well as steady growth in footprint, deliveries, and collect orders.

Increased focus on the delivery segment continued to bear fruit, with the total number of deliveries increasing to 62%.

Zimbabwe's operations units' revenue increased by 26% as the group recorded a net monetary gain of $267 million, reflecting robust inflation hedging strategies in Zimbabwe.

Foreign currency translations favourably impacted profit by $2 billion with profits attributable to shareholders and headline earnings increasing by 75% and 68%, respectively.

Cash generated from operations was very strong at 173% of operating profit of $1,23 billion was spent on investing activities.

"Between 2022 and 2024, Simbisa Brands intends to make significant progress in firmly establishing itself as a corporate that bridges the gap for people in various communities," added Dionisio.

Simbisa Brands runs subsidiaries like Pizza Inn, Baker's Inn, Nando's, Steers, Fish Inn and Chicken Inn among others.

Copyright New Zimbabwe. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source News Service English